The invention relates to a novel tongue and groove profile for use in joining wood-based boards or panels comprised of plywood, oriented strand board (OSB), waferboard, particleboard, fiberboard or other similar wood based materials.
The use of tongue and groove profiles for joining panels or boards for construction of floors, roofs and other building structural features is well known. Tongue and groove profiles allow two boards or panels to be interlockingly joined during construction. In construction of a building structure, the panels span the distance between supporting joists with the interlocking tongue and groove side edges of adjacent panels serving to support the panels against deflection between the joists while the end edges of the panels are located over and supported by the joists.
Prior tongue and groove profiles in use have experienced several problems, however. A prior tongue and groove profile design (see FIG. 1) was constructed such that the inner walls of the groove were essentially parallel with the exception of the innermost region of the groove adjacent to the base of the groove where the groove is narrowed to accommodate the tongue tip. The opening or clearance of the groove is only slightly larger than the thickness of the tip of the tongue. This results in some difficulty of insertion of the tongue into the groove during the installation process. Installation can be especially difficult if panels are bowed, or the edges of the panels are deformed or swollen due to an increased water content in the panels. To avoid such problems, a tongue and groove structure comprised of a tongue that is slightly longer in length than the length of the groove and in which a notch is cut through the tongue has been used. The notches are intended to enable water to drain out. To ensure that the notches are not closed off by edge-to-edge contact of mated panels, the tongue is made longer than the groove. Without the notches, water could accumulate on top of the panels thereby increasing the risk of swelling or buckling of the panels, which are undesirable conditions. Edge sealers can be applied to the edges of panels to inhibit the swelling of panels caused by moisture. However, prior tongue and groove designs were difficult to adequately seal in this manner due to the narrow opening of the mouth of the groove and the direction of the sealant being essentially parallel to the machined surfaces of the tongue and groove.
Another disadvantage of prior tongue and groove profiles was that markings were necessary on the panels because the panels had to be oriented with a particular surface facing up or down to enable a satisfactory interlocking joint with the adjacent panel.
Additionally, when adhesive was desired for a secure fit of two joined panels, prior tongue and groove profiles were prone to overfilling with adhesive because there was not a properly designed gap between the tongue and groove when interfit and excess adhesive could squeeze out onto the surfaces of the panels creating a messy, undesirable condition.
Accordingly, there is a need for a tongue and groove profile which is of a configuration enabling a close interlocking mating relationship between two construction panels and which enables a large load transfer capacity and which can be used in multiple applications in construction, but yet is not subject to severe deformation if the panels are exposed to moisture.
It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention to provide a tongue and groove profile of a configuration which enables two panels to be easily fit together and enables a close interlocking mating relationship between two construction panels.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a tongue and groove profile which provides a high strength joint having a large load transfer capacity such that the profile is capable of use in multiple construction applications such as for flooring, roofing and other applications.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a tongue and groove profile of a configuration which does not require that the panels be oriented with a particular surface facing up or down to achieve a satisfactory interlocking joint between panels.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a tongue and groove profile to which adhesive can be applied without resultant squeeze out of excess adhesive when two panels are interconnected.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a tongue and groove profile to which sealant can be evenly applied to assure adequate sealing of all surfaces of the tongue and groove edges.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows or may be learned by practice of the invention.
To achieve the foregoing objects, and in accordance with the purpose of the invention as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided a tongue and groove profile for a construction panel comprising a tongue, formed on a first edge of the construction panel and protruding and extending outwardly from the first edge, the tongue including a head having a chamfered edge; a neck having two essentially parallel sides, wherein the head expands from the chamfered edge to the neck and merges into a shoulder portion, the shoulder portion having two radiused convex sides, the two radiused convex sides intersecting and merging with the first edge of the construction panel at a first end and the neck merging with the shoulder portion at a second end; and a groove, formed on a second edge of the construction panel and extending inwardly into the second edge in a manner forming a cavity, the groove including a head having a chamfered edge; a neck having two essentially parallel sides wherein the head expands into the neck; a shoulder portion having two radiused concave sides, the two radiused concave sides expanding outwardly to form an opening in the second edge of the construction panel at a first end of the shoulder portion and the neck merging with the shoulder portion at a second end of the shoulder portion; wherein the tongue of a first construction panel and a groove of a second construction panel having the same configuration as the first construction panel fit together in interlocking relationship such that the neck of the tongue fits into the neck of the groove and the head and shoulder portion of the tongue fit into the head and shoulder portion of the groove to form a joint between the first and second construction panels.
In another embodiment of the present invention a panel has a first edge and a second edge, and a tongue formed on the first edge of the panel and protruding and extending outwardly from the first edge. The tongue has a head having a tip and a neck extending from the head having radiused concave sides, wherein the sides expand from the tip and extend to the first edge of the panel. The panel is further made up of a groove formed on the second edge of the panel and extending inwardly into the second edge in a manner forming a cavity. The groove is defined by a mouth at the second edge with two radiused convex sides that begin at the mouth and converge inwardly into the second edge toward a throat. The tongue is configured to fit together with an adjacent groove and throat of an adjacent matching panel, member in interlocking relationship such that the tip of the tongue fits into the throat of the adjacent groove of the adjacent panel member to form a joint between the panel and the adjacent matching panel member.